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President Barack Obama proposed in this week's State of the Union address that states require students to stay in school until age 18, compared with the typical dropout age of 16. Rhode Island has increased its dropout age, but efforts elsewhere have fizzled amid criticism that forcing students to stay enrolled could cause classroom problems.

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Grab-and-go, second-chance and breakfast-on-the-bus options are service styles that can help ensure students begin the day with a healthy meal, registered dietitian Christen Cupples Cooper writes in this commentary. She considers past and future school breakfast trends.

School districts are working with outside organizations to improve summer school for students to curb summer learning loss in reading and math while having fun. In Pittsburgh, officials have launched a free, voluntary summer program that combines community activities and educational trips with academic lessons.

Journalist Janice D'Arcy outlines the major changes in the new national school lunch guidelines issued by the USDA in this interview with Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project. The changes going into effect this year, Black notes, are the first major alterations of the guidelines in 15 years and are based on current nutritional science. "The improved meal standards are intended to meet one-third of the daily needs of the average child," Black said.

Education consultant Ben Johnson describes in this blog post his experience introducing a group of ninth-grade students to a collaborative-learning project. The inquiry-based project, in which students were asked to find a solution to a real-world problem, required students first be taught to work in groups, share ideas and function collaboratively. These skills, though not often taught in primary and secondary schools, are expected of students from day one in many colleges and universities, Johnson writes.

Educators and experts offer their takes in this opinion piece on how and why public attitudes have changed toward the nation's teachers. Author Diane Ravitch traces the change to the advent of No Child Left Behind, which she says made teachers accountable for unreasonable goals. Education policy expert Frederick M. Hess argues that today's attitudes are nothing new and that perceived attacks against teachers actually are directed at failing policies instead.